Annie,
Among other resources and free newsletters that you can check out:
www.rachelcosgrove.com
www.alwyncosgrove.com
www.developingathletics.com
www.sportspecific.com (there is a free newsletter, although you will learn a lot from becoming a member)
www.cbathletics.com
&
www.grrlAthlete.com
Here is the latest issue of grrlAthlete.com's free newsletter:
Issue 25
www.grrlAthlete.com – Your guide to a fit and athletic lifestyle.
Content
• Tip: After the Weight Loss
• Putting Your Body in Balance – Part II: Gray Cook’s Core Training
grrl Motivation
“As long as I'm healthy, I'll be able to practice. As long as I can practice, I'll be able to win!” – Venus Williams.
After the Weight Loss
When it comes to weight loss there is a definite difference between short term and long term success. There are many effective exercise programs that can provide dramatic weight loss in as little as 8-10 weeks. Thousands of women have found success simply by increasing their physical activity or by using an advanced exercise program like ShapeShift™. Weight loss is the relatively easy part, but the trick for many women is keeping the weight off.
At Maastricht University in Belgium, a study was conducted on the effects of a high protein diet on weight maintenance after weight loss. One hundred and forty-eight men and women who had recently lost 5-10% of their body weight were divided into two groups. Both groups visited the university regularly and were counseled by a dietician on how to maintain their weight loss. The only difference between the two groups was that one group received an additional 48 grams of protein each day.
After 3 months the group consuming the extra protein had seen a 50% lower body weight regain than the group not consuming the extra protein. Further more, the weight that was regained in the protein group was fat-free mass. The researchers partially explained the results by saying that the protein group felt “less hungry” due to the filling effects of the protein.
While this is only one study, it did have a very large subject group, and does lend more evidence to the “a calorie is not just a calorie” argument, which believes that what you eat is as important as how much you eat.
The bottom line from this study is that adding 50 grams of protein (6 oz of fish or meat and a glass of milk) to your diet may be an effective way to help preserve weight loss (and more importantly improve your body composition), and help you reap long term results from the hard work you originally put in to your weight loss exercise program.
Reference:
Westerterp-Plantenga, M., et al. High protein intake sustains weight maintenance after
body weight loss in humans. Int. J. Obes. 28:57-64, 2004.
Putting Your Body in Balance – Part II
For part I of our Interview with Gray Cook, please see Issue 24. Gray Cook, author of the new book, “Athletic Body in Balance”, has been a physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist since 1990.
GA: Do you see a lot of groin injuries in the female population? Do these injuries have the same origin as male problems?
GC:
Actually, I see a smaller amount of groin problems in the female population when compared to the male population. However, it is present and I have seen the phenomena in the female athlete.
Many times when I find a core problem in a female athlete where the power of the legs, the tightness of the quads or whatever exceeds the power of the core, female athletes will often have problems in the lower quarter with foot, ankle, knee or hip problems.
The male population seems to have more of their problem concentrated in the core (which may be due to alignment of the hips in the male populations). It’s the same general biomechanical phenomena but because male and female bodies are constructed different, they will sometimes have symptoms in different places. When a male runs, he has a greater amount of lean body mass above the waist and by throwing the arms as counterbalances to the legs, the male uses a lot more torque through the torso than say a female athlete with a slightly lesser degree of upper body lean body mass.
We use a term called leg dominance (or quad dominance) in the athletic population when athletes simply overdevelop the legs relative to the strength of the trunk. It does not mean that the trunk is weak. It just means that they engage the thigh before they stabilize the pelvis. This can cause tracking problems at the knee, stability problems at the hip and create torque on the pelvis and spine.
I have developed a specialized practice with a few professional athletes dealing specifically with the groin problem that usually is the result of a functional asymmetry between the left and right side. These athletes are so strong and powerful while compensating for a left-right difference that they will sometimes literally cause tears through the groin and abdominal region as they compensate.
I have seen this problem in the female population but it is to a lesser degree. However, I feel that it is one of the complicating factors in the higher incidence of female ACL injuries.
GA: You have mentioned that some core injuries may be due to tight muscles elsewhere and thus compensation leads to injury. Can you explain? Does this mean that lots of core training might not prevent all core injuries?
GC:
That’s absolutely true. Just training the core alone will not cut it.
The core, which is basically the torso and hips, will often compensate for a left-right asymmetry. You must understand that the core musculature is run off of a reflex base. That means you may think about kicking a soccer ball or swinging a tennis racquet because that is movement of a limb or an extremity. It’s a skillful movement. But stabilizing your core is something you do not even think about. You do it automatically. It is a reflex-generated activity.
When you have an asymmetry and you need to compensate, for instance to equalize your stride length, then the core reflex is inhibited and you do things with the mid-section – the trunk, the hips and the core – that are not necessarily natural. Now, if you use a stability ball or get down on your back and do a bunch of crunches, you do strengthen the core but you are not stabilizing the core.
Stabilization is the core firing first and managing the biomechanics of the spine and pelvis so that the hips, shoulders, knees, ankles, elbows and wrists do what they are supposed to do. If you simply assume that your core is weak and train it, you may make it stronger and you will be able to do more crunches a couple of weeks from now.
However, that does not mean that your trunk will become dynamically stable during running, jumping, turning, cutting and throwing activities. You must remove the asymmetries. You must remove the reason for compensation and then develop a stable base through the core and add strengthening on top of that. It’s sort of a reversal of the old way that we used to think. If you have core-related problems, just strengthen the core and it will be fine. It’s not as simple as that and that’s why the movement screen is invaluable as a pre-cursor to core training.
GA: What are your opinions on the various methods of core training such as stability ball exercises or Pilates for core conditioning?
GC:
My book, “Athletic Body in Balance”, incorporates Yoga, Pilates, the Reebok Core Board, a step, a slide board, cable columns, dumbbells and free weights into core training.
However when I discuss core training with a group of people or lecture on the topic, everyone wants to discuss exercises and no one wants to discuss evaluation. To me, I would rather be a doctor than a drug rep. What I mean by that is that most of the people who are out there conditioning athletes seem to know more about exercise techniques and exercise equipment than they do the specific individual needs of each of their athlete’s bodies.
Evaluation is the pre-cursor. If you show me a left-right hip asymmetry and a weak core in an individual, then I can use any equipment or any philosophy whether it be Pilates, Tai-Chi or Yoga to stabilize the core once I know the problem. What I will do is work that individual slowly into that problem area giving them more and more mobility and stability to allow them to have motor learning.
Therefore, the issue is not discussing equipment, protocols or exercises. The issue is what this individual lacks. Do they have less hip extension on left and right? Does the torso have poor stability when they stand on the right leg as opposed to the left? Is there generalized tightness through the upper back when rotating left compared to right? All of the training in the world if not targeted at the weakest link will have very little effect on the whole body as things move together.
When the movement screen is performed on athletes, the movement pattern that produces the greatest amount of difficulty or has the greatest restriction or limitation is the one that we confront first. We go through a series of mobility exercises and stretches and then some basic static stabilization followed by dynamic stabilization programming.
My book breaks it down this way. We find out what movement is lacking and then we basically regenerate that movement both by improving biomechanics (the length and strength of most muscles around the area) and then the software (the way that you engage the musculature as you enter into that pattern). We look for left-right symmetry and then we move to the next most difficult movement in the movement screen until no imbalances exist. This seems to be the fastest and most effective way to minimize injuries and increase performance, which is why I wrote an entire book on it.
GA: You have mentioned that it is possible to improve a male athlete’s vertical jump simply by increasing upper torso flexibility. Are there any tricks like that for women?
GC:
Generally speaking, female athletes do possess a slightly greater degree of flexibility specifically in the upper body than male athletes. But there is a reduced amount of torso stability when looking at females in the push-up position where they have to coordinate shoulder stability and trunk stability together.
I guess the best way to say it is that males often have mobility problems in the upper torso and back whereas females generally have some stability problems there. Within the movement screen, there is a test that looks at the push-up, not so much for arm strength, but how the trunk stabilizes during the push-up movement. A slightly higher degree of females perform poorly on this test as compared to males. Therefore, I think my statement is somewhat supported by our test results.
GA: Stay tuned for the conclusion of the grrlAthlete.com interview with Gray Cook in the next newsletter.
The information on grrlAthlete.com is for education purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to replace the advice or attention of health-care professionals. Consult your physician before beginning or making changes in your diet or exercise program, for diagnosis and treatment of illness and injuries, and for advice regarding medications.
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